The Aftermath
by yxs4eva
Summary: The Reaper war is over so Shepard must face the decisions she has made and all the live it affects. FemShep x Liara! Ending Spoilers!
1. Chapter 1

**The Aftermath**

**Summary: The Reaper war is over so Shepard must face the decisions she has made and all the live it affects. FemShep x Liara! 3 Ending Spoilers!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Mass Effect 1, 2, or 3! If I did there would be more Mass effect games! :D**

**Author's Note **

**Heya! I slightly changed the ending of Mass Effect 3 to fit the story a little better but most everything is the same. This chapter is all about my take on what Shepard and Liara were thinking on the final mission. Enjoy! **

**Chapter 1**

Commander Jaime Shepard was facing with the most difficult decision of her life, control the Reapers by becoming one of them, destroy the reapers but in doing so could destroy all synthetics, or add her energy in order to create a new DNA the catch was she would be absorbed. None of the options sounded ideal, she didn't want to destroy _all _synthetics but she did want to destroy the Reapers. It was an impossible choice and either way she knew she would probably die or be absorbed so the choice never affected her. It did however affect all species and everyone she loved. She wanted to set a good future for the ones she cared most about, all her friends, everyone she's ever known. She remembered the last time she parted with those friends, she made all of them stay on the Normandy despite their stubbornness. Liara and Garras were the most persistent. Garras argued that he was always charging into the impossible with her and Liara reminded her of the fact that she had chosen Shepard as her bondmate which meant they would always be together through all the challenges. Shepard backfired that if she lived and either Garras or Liara didn't survive she wouldn't be able to complete the mission or live with herself. Reluctantly they agreed to stay behind but it was torturous seeing Shepard go at it alone. She wouldn't be alone though she had all the species at her back. She also promised Liara that she would do everything in her power to come back alive. After the tough goodbyes Shepard left charging off into battle without her trusty teammates. Now, here she was… one way trip to the Crucible saving the galaxies once again. She barely had enough energy to walk aching all over she just wanted to be done with it. After watching Anderson die right in front of her really drained her. She couldn't take any more lives lost. She heard the Catalyst say something but her eardrums were ringing. It was all a little too much the Catalyst in the form of the kid that haunted her dreams, Anderson dying, and The Illusive Man killing himself (even though she didn't like him much). Before she thought she would go crazy she decided.

"You're saying I can destroy the Reapers, save Earth, and in doing so destroy all synthetic life? Geth, VI's, and Mass Relays?" Shepard thought about Legion, all geth, and EDI could she really just kill them? But the chance to destroy the Reapers and save Earth was very tempting.

"Yes, it is probable that all synthetic life will end… and yours."

Shepard knew going into this mission that there was a slim chance of her going back. _For once, Liara… I can't keep my promise to always come back. _

Shepard nodded to the Catalyst then started to limp slowly to the bright blue beam where the controls were. She raised her gun with her arm shaking, she fired two shots into the controls and a great shockwave engulfed her. _I hope I made the right choice. _

Liara starred out the Normandy window down at earth as a blue light moved across the surface. She didn't know what it was but she felt a sadness fall over her, a single tear slipped down her face and fell onto her fist. Over the intercom she heard Admiral Hackett update Joker on Earth's status. He said everything was still intact, that Shepard destroyed the Reapers, but he explained that the Crucible had been destroyed with Shepard and Anderson still inside. She felt Garras wrap an arm around her but everything went numb. Shepard was gone. _Goddess… she's gone. No she can't be… she promised to come back. _Every memory Liara had of Shepard started rushing back the first time they met, the first kiss, the first time Shepard came back from a suicide mission how she felt so relieved and happy… she just wanted that to happen this time too. Shepard would spot Liara from a mile away and run to embrace her. Now, all of those hopes were shattered. Everyone knew going into this mission that not everyone would make it back and Shepard made sure the entire Normandy crew made it out alive.

Liara silently slipped away from the despaired crew she had to go to the only place where a little piece of Shepard still was, the Commander's room. Liara stood in front of the door for a moment hoping she wouldn't break down the second she took one step in the room without the one person who should be there with her. Before she could, however, the Normandy shook violently. Liara raced to Joker as fast as she could without bumping into everything in her path.

"Joker what's going on?!" Garras yelled at the pilot while he held himself up on the seat in front of him. Joker's hands moved quickly across the controls of the Normandy. He was driving manually which meant EDI was malfunctioning. "EDI! Crap not good! The mass relay is shutting down! We're being sucked out!" Joker continued to try bringing EDI back online. The VI's body was in the seat next to him but she wasn't responding and the body was limp.

Liara tried to understand what was going on but the world was moving in slow motion to her. One last jerk of the Normandy sent everyone standing up falling on the ground. The Normandy bounced a few times then completely stopped. Everyone groggily stood up moving to the windows to see where they just crash landed, Liara didn't recognize the planet but it looked to be heavily vegetated so it must have been one of the planets that the Normandy never landed on during their travels.

Tali came running from the elevator, "Joker! What happened? Where are we?" Joker grunted in reply.

"I have no idea EDI is completely shut down I can't pull up any navigating systems and the mass relay just stopped working."

Everyone was in shock to say the least, the mass relays never _stopped _working they were like super technology and EDI shutting down was a total mystery. Liara decided that she should check her Shadow Broker computers. "I'll be back, I need to check something." With that she left swiftly hoping working would help get her mind of everything that had just occurred and the news about Shepard. She doubted it would help but she had to try.

**Author's note (again) **

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews help motivate for more chapters. ;D**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Aftermath**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Mass Effect 1, 2, or 3! **

**Chapter 2**

On Earth after the explosion of the Crucible all the abominations just fell down lifeless, the Reapers as well, and a blue wave of energy passed through. The soldier's just stood starring up at the sky watching the blue light. One soldier started to cheer, others joined in immediately and pretty soon a roar of cheers filled the air. Some shouted Shepard's name, some Anderson's, and others just shouted incoherent noises. They had no idea about anything that was going on outside in space but for now they just wanted something to cheer about. Shepard gave them that.

Later that day Admiral Hackett received news that all mass relays were currently not working and all synthetics were not responding. He knew this had to be something that happened up in the Crucible but he didn't know what exactly. Most of the damage to Earth was done to the Crucible and he had people trying to search for the bodies of Commander Shepard and Captain Anderson. Thanks to the two of them there hadn't been an overbearing amount of casualties. Shepard was an incredible soldier and leader that didn't deserve to die, Anderson to, he was an outstanding leader. Bringing him out of his thoughts was his commanding officer looking for the bodies radioing in.

"Sir! We found Captain Anderson's body, we think he's still alive but barely, we need to get medical attention down here ASAP." Hackett smiled thinking what a stubborn old man Anderson was. Now if only they would have the same luck with Shepard.

"It's on the way Lieutenant, save his life and find Shepard… she could still be alive." He put down the radio and headed for the med bay to await Anderson and possibly Shepard's return.

_Why does my whole body burn? I should be dead… that blast should have killed me. _

_It hurts. Bad. But I need to move, I need to know what happened. Did it work? Or is the reason why I'm still alive is that it didn't work? _

_Move body, move! _

No matter how hard she tried to move she couldn't there was weight on her. Something pinning her down, something heavy. It hurt to breath but she was managing. What really hurt was her left shoulder where she had been injured before she went into the Crucible. When the Reaper beam was in her path she barely had time to dodge so it struck her shoulder. At least she wasn't dead though. She tested to see if her voice was working but as she thought, it didn't. So basically she was stranded where ever she was until someone moved the debris around. Which, she figured could take a while. Her breath started to become more shallow and quick. _I hope they come soon… otherwise I won't make it for much longer. _Her shoulder started to throb causing Shepard a great deal of pain. Luckily, she passed out.

When she started to wake up she could hear a lot of noise around her, like the day Cerberus put her back together, there was a fast beeping sound that came from the machine they hooked her heart rate up to. She vaguely hears someone say that her heart rate was going too fast and they had to slow it down. Shepard was not feeling very cooperative she needed to know what happened with the Reapers, Earth, The Normandy, and Liara. She tried to struggle against the arms pushing her down on the not very comfortable medical table. It wasn't a very smart move but she wasn't thinking straight. One of the doctors pushed on her injured shoulder which caused Shepard to groan with pain and finally stop struggling. Another doctor shined a mini flashlight in both eyes. "How is she doing?" Shepard recognized the voice but couldn't quite place it that is until she saw his face, Admiral Hackett. He was looking back and forth between Shepard and the doctor as the situation was being explained to him.

There were a lot of questions Shepard wanted to ask him but she hesitated… not knowing if she could handle any kind of disappointment. To add on to it, she was uncertain if she could even form the words. When she tried to say something it was in a mumble barely audible. Admiral Hackett focused solely on Shepard now, he knew she was trying to say something her eyes said that much and she also tried to open her mouth a few times. But it was too soon to tell her everything she needed to recover before he laid out all the events.

"Commander Shepard, please rest for a little while. We are still trying to access the mission but when we do I'll tell you. Just don't worry about that now… focus on healing." It did little to ease Shepard's mind but she complied. There was one thing that she couldn't not know, "L..Lia-" Admiral Hackett understood immediately.

"Doctor T'Soni and the Normandy crew are safe." Shepard visibly relaxed. _At least I can give her some good news. _Admiral Hackett left silently heading for the comm room.

Back on the Normandy Liara sat at her desk messing with her computers anything to get her mind off of Shepard. When she first came into her room she was expecting to see Glyph hovering around and giving her reports of everything important, but when he wasn't there she became worried. Why were all the synthetics not working?

"Liara, Admiral Hackett wants to see all of us in the comm room, says it's important." Joker's voice called over the intercom. "On my way." Liara exited her room with haste a small amount of hope rising within her, maybe he had answers.

When she arrived everyone was already there and they were waiting to patch through to the Admiral, Joker connected the link and the Admiral's hologram appeared. "I'm sure all of you are wondering why the Mass Relays and all synthetic life have completely shut down. I don't have an exact answer but I know it was something Commander Shepard did in the Crucible. We found Captain Anderson barely alive and also the Commander" Liara's heart skipped a beat "They are both in critical condition but are expected to survive. I'll keep all of you updated on both Anderson's and Shepard's condition." The link was turned off and the room was silent for a while. Everyone's faces were a mix of relief and happiness. "Well it looks like Shepard really is as stubborn as a Krogan!" Grunt slammed his fists together and laughed. Everyone was caught in small chatter. Liara could hear Garrus saying he knew all along that Shepard would make it making him get a playful punch on the arm from Tali. Liara couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. It disappeared when a thought occurred to her, they still had to get off of this planet. Now her mission was to find a way back to Earth to be there for Shepard.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Aftermath Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect 1, 2, or 3! **

**Author Note**

**I am so very sorry for the delay of this chapter. I've had a bunch of exams and since it's been the Christmas holiday, family has completely bombarded me. Not to worry however I'm back in the swing of things! :D**

Two weeks had passed and Shepard was improving slowly but steadily. Now she had the strength to sit up and talk a little better, she still had no idea what happened after she made her decision in the Crucible. The only thing she got was bits and pieces of conversation outside her hospital room but mostly they were talking about causalities or someone being missing. Admiral Hackett hadn't visited her in a while which Shepard knew wasn't unusual since he was busy with reconstructing the damage done. She wished she could see Liara… after all she went through in the Crucible, after thinking she would never see her friends again, she had to physically hold Liara. The soldier starred outside the window of the hospital, there were alliance ships carrying debris back and forth from fallen buildings. From what Shepard could see there wasn't too much damage so it had to of come from the area around the Crucible. Memories came flashing back, the little kid when she left Earth, watching Thessia and Palavan fall, Mordin… the commander wasn't one to show weakness in crying but this once a few tears slipped down her cold face. Everything had been bottled up inside her it was now catching up with her. Her chest ached and a lump formed in her throat, she was trying hard not to lose it. Her body tensed making pain come back to her wounds… using controlled breathing Shepard managed to calm her body. But her mind was still in turmoil. _I need to know what happened to the Reapers. _Shepard was determined she couldn't just sit around waiting on her wounds. She wiped her face. With her determination flaring she slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed and almost instantly regretted it. Pain shot through her like fifty bullets traveling up her body, she groaned but took a deep breath and chose to ignore it the best she could. She was hooked up to an IV machine that was an annoyance because of the steady beeping coming from it, she grabbed it to make sure she wouldn't fall over as soon as she got on her feet. Carefully, Shepard put pressure on her feet to test them out, when the pain was bearable she stood swaying as she clutched the IV machine for dear life. Before she could take a step a nurse came in for her hourly check in, she stood frozen at the sight of Shepard trying to move, then went into panic mode.

"Why are you out of bed?! Commander, please you have to stay in bed… here-" The young woman with black hair in a bun and green eyes helped Shepard back onto the bed. "What were you thinking Commander?" Shepard closed her eyes and threw her head back on the slightly propped up pillow.

"I need to speak with Admiral Hackett."

The young nurse studied Shepard's face she looked exhausted. "I will try to get ahold of him." The young nurse knew she wanted to speak with him about whatever happened near the Crucible. She was under strict orders not to talk about the Geth and synthetics around Shepard but she would still send a message to the Admiral.

"Thanks." Shepard noticed the nurse stayed to check her IV machine and all the equipment that currently surrounded her but after she left without another word. It wasn't long before Shepard watched the door imagining Liara bursting through and kissing her softly like she did on Illium the first time they saw each other after her 'death'. Why hadn't Liara come to visit her? Was it because she was so injured they didn't want anyone to see her, like they did with Ashley? _I'm awake and everything though… don't tell me she's pissed at me for almost dying. No, I'm being ridiculous. _

A knock came to the door of her room. _Must be someone other than the nurses… they don't knock. _In stepped Admiral Hackett the man she waited weeks to hear back from.

"Sir." Shepard attempted to sit up straighter but the Admiral held a hand up signaling her to relax. He stood beside her bed near her feet.

"You're looking much better than when I saw you but still like hell." They both chuckled but he grew serious once again letting Shepard know the topic was going to be about the Crucible.

"Listen Shepard… I wanted to wait when you were feeling like yourself again to tell you about the mission and also to ask what happened inside the Crucible. You trying to walk told me you're slowly getting to be yourself." Shepard nodded indicating he could tell her. "I don't know what you did but all synthetics are… offline. When that blue light came from the Crucible they all just collapsed even the Mass Relays were affected by it. Which is why your crew isn't here, as they were passing through the relay it shut down causing them to crash land. But don't worry they are all fine. Another thing is we found Captain Anderson he is alive but barely."

Shepard's heart sank. _The Catalyst was right all synthetic life was wiped out. _Admiral Hackett waited patiently as she took in the news. "I… don't know why it happened. But the Catalyst told me it _could _happen. It gave me three choices destroy the reapers with a fifty-fifty chance it would wipe out all synthetic life, become a Reaper and command them, or add my energy to create new DNA for the Reapers to still live. The problem with that option was it wasn't guaranteed to actually stop them from attacking. I chose to destroy the Reapers." Shepard no longer looked at the Admiral.

"I see… I think I would have done the same. But it doesn't really explain why."

Shepard began to remember her conversation with the Catalyst. "To destroy them I was told a wave would sweep over the Earth and the entire galaxy. It would have the capabilities to destroy synthetics. That must have been the blue light you saw." It made sense Shepard thought but could it really have reached all places? "You're sure _all _synthetics are shut down?"

Meanwhile, on the Normandy, a blue light glowed dimly in the AI core room. It did not have eyes or any face features of a human or any species but it was awake and alive. "Shepard-Commander. We are Legion."


End file.
